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Month: February 2015

Thousands of death, families broken, and the chair at the dinner table empty. All the precious lives, mindlessly ended due to the danger named dengue.

Dengue fever, also known as break bone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. In a small proportion of cases the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs.

Dengue is transmitted by several species of mosquito within the genus Aedes, principally A. aegypti. The virus has four different types; infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications. As there is no commercially available vaccine, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and the number of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites.

Dengue was mainly introduced to Indians in the aftermath of the great floods experienced in Mumbai on 26th July, 2006. It was a nightmare followed by even a greater nightmare. Every second person in the hospital bed was dying of this disease.

Now after 7 years, it still manages to claim lives. Below mentioned article was written in The Times of India on 1st September, 2013. The track record of this disease is such that people totally lose hope.

Five BNSD Shiksha Niketan hostel inmates test positive for dengue

TNNSep 1, 2013, 02.24AM IST

KANPUR: Five inmates of BNSD Shiksha Niketan hostel have tested positive for dengue. With this the number of dengue patients in the city in August has touched 37, including three deaths. Head of Microbiology department at GSVM Medical College Dr Atul Garg said that 11 new cases, including five BNSD students, have been reported in the ongoing week (August 26 and 31).

The disease also claimed a life at Lala Lajpat Rai (LLR) Hospital. Their platelet count was quite low and they were running high fever for the last few days. LLR’s Bal Rog Hospital head Dr RP Singh said that a kid from Maudaha region died of dengue on Thursday. He was brought to LLR on August 26. Two other deaths due to dengue were reported in the first fortnight of August. Commenting on the five hostel inmates, BNSD Shiksha Niketan’s media incharge Deepak Singh blamed unhygienic condition of Brijendra Swaroop ground adjacent to the hostel premises for the mosquito menace. He added that school management had repeatedly asked the municipal corporation to remove garbage from the ground but in vain.

“Civic body’s apathy has left students sick,” he added. However, he refused to comment after being told that dengue mosquitoes breed in clean water found in homes. Meanwhile, students alleged that hostel authorities were yet to empty the coolers.

Other news articles regarding the menace of dengue are in the following given links:

As we all know that the only way to fight a problem is to go to its root cause and uproot it. Well, the root cause of dengue as mentioned above is the mosquitoes. We can safely say that mosquitoes are omnipresent in most parts of India and around the world. There is no assurance that the mosquitoes will be totally extinct from world. So the only option is to find a solution which will repel mosquitoes and keep them away from us. At the same time the solution used should not harm the ecology.

Malaria is another disease caused by mosquitoes that can turn fatal. It is not as fatal as dengue, but leads to a lot of trauma among the victim.

The question here is why to go through so much trauma? The humans, being the evolved species have come up with solutions to every little problem. Then why not for this?

We, at C Tech Corporation have thought about this problem in detail and have come up with a viable solution. The solution is named as Termirepel™. We are the sole manufacturers of the product Termirepel™.

Our company believes in the principles of sustainability and eco balance. We do not want to imbalance the cycle of life; therefore Termirepel™ can be easily described as termite aversive, used also against all types of insects and which works on the mechanism of repellence. It means that it does not kill the target insects or termites but only repels them, thus balancing the ecology and helping in maintaining the goal of sustainability. There are more than 500 species against which this product works.

This product can be easily used against mosquitoes. It can be used in terms of lacquer as well as liquid form. It can be coated on the end applications and thus mosquitoes can be kept away from homes, buildings and other public places.

Nothing in life is as smooth as the air plane runway. There are bound to be hurdles and bumps in our way. But how we tackle them defines our success. Using Termirepel™ to tackle the problem of mosquitoes will go a long way in giving us the success in eliminating diseases like dengue and malaria and will help us to live fearlessly.

A farmer has to take into consideration a number of factors during the germination and subsequent growth of seedlings and crops. Bad weather, unavailability of nutrients and pest damage are just some of the issues that a farmer has to be prepared for. While bad weather is something that cannot be controlled no matter what, prevention or control of pest damage is one thing that farmers can take care of to make sure they get abundant produce. One such pest of agriculture is the Ruther­glen bug. Rutherglen bugs are mainly sap suckers and may cause damage to susceptible plants in a way similar to that caused by aphids.

Rutherglen bug is best known as a seed-feeding pest, attacking grain as it develops and fills. However, in some seasons, large numbers of nymphs and adults can cause damage to establishing winter or summer crops. Their populations can build up in summer weeds, and move from these into establishing winter crop, feeding on and killing small seedlings. Large numbers of Rutherglen bugs moving out of crops poses a threat to nearby establishing summer crop. The adults migrate into fields from local weed hosts, or more distant sources in spring. Infestations can be large and the period of invasion prolonged. The damage caused by these bugs may include flower abortion, reduced pod set and seed development. Direct feeding on developing seed may affect oil quantity, quality and seed viability. These bugs can persist into windrows, and at harvest cause problems with seed flow through harvesters, and by raising the moisture content of the grain to above acceptable standard.

The main issue with Rutherglen bugs around harvest time is con­t­a­m­i­na­tion of harvested grain. When they are in very large numbers they can cause a number of issues at harvest; live bugs in the sample can result in rejection of a load at the delivery point. In some seasons the infestation can reach plague proportions, typically when the senescence of weed hosts in spring and early summer forces adults and nymphs into nearby crops. Although Rutherglen bug is usually a pest in spring, in rare instances large infestations have occurred in autumn with seedling crops decimated by the feeding of adults and nymphs. In very large numbers, these bugs can dam­age seedling crops purely by weight of num­bers feed­ing on seedlings. The bugs maintain their populations on fallen sunflower seeds and migrate to cotton as the seedlings emerge. They suck the cotton seedlings dry resulting in an establishment problems and gappy stands. This situation can also arise in fields with poor hygiene where weeds act as a winter host. They can also build in some winter crops such as canola and then move into adjacent seedling cotton in the spring.

The below article would further emphasize on the damage caused by these pesky creatures.

Rutherglen bugs storm northern crops

18/12/12

An infestation of Rutherglen bugs that may have ridden recent storms into the northern grains region is causing headaches for growers from northern NSW to Central Queensland.

Dr Melina Miles, Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) says large numbers of Rutherglen bugs have migrated into cropping regions since early November.

“While the exact origin of the bugs is unknown, it is likely they are being carried on storm fronts from inland regions where they have bred up over winter and spring on native host plants,” Dr Miles said.

“Large numbers are affecting seedling establishment, simply by weight of numbers feeding on the emerging seedlings.

“In some instances the seedling crops are invaded by large numbers of nymphs walking out of weedy fallows into establishing crops.”

Dr Miles says ploughing a deep furrow between the seedling crop and the source of bugs, or a border spray may be sufficient to prevent ongoing infestation.

She says sorghum is vulnerable to Rutherglen bug from flowering to soft dough stage.

Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC)-supported research shows sorghum crops infested during flowering will fail to set seed, and infestations at milky dough stage will result in seed covered in small, dark feeding wounds.

Dr Miles says developing grain affected by Rutherglen bug feeding is light in weight, with poor germination. Under wet conditions, fungal and bacterial infections further degrade Rutherglen bug-damaged grain, infecting through feeding wounds on the seed.

If large num­bers of Rutherglen bug move into the estab­lish­ing crop, insec­ti­cide seed dress­ings will not pre­vent dam­age to seedlings, as each bug must feed to get a dose of the insec­ti­cide, and in doing so con­tribute to the plant damage. Therefore we need a solution that helps protect our plants and trees from damage, while at the same time does not harm the environment in any way. So, how do we fight this pest? Keep reading!

At C Tech Corporation, we offer a safe and foolproof solution to deal with these tiny insects. Termirepel™ is a non-toxic, non-hazardous product that primarily repels insects from the application. It is a broad spectrum repellent which works against almost 500 species of pestering bugs thus efficaciously fending them away from the application. The best feature of this product is that it is environmentally safe and causes no harm to the insect as well as humans and the environment. It is available in masterbatch and lacquer form, and as a liquid solution. To keep these insects at bay, this product can be coated on the tree trunks in lacquer form or added in mulches or films. The repelling mechanism of the product would ward off the Rutherglen bug and any other insect that could harm our crops.

Pinyon pine is a beautiful tree, offering incredible structure to a desert. One of the slowest growing trees among the conifers, the Pinyon pine can take up to a hundred years to produce a single cone. The trees yield edible pinyon nuts, which are widely eaten by the Native Americans. Annual harvest of wild pinyon nuts exceeds a million pounds! The wood, especially when burned, has a distinctive fragrance, making it a common wood to burn in chimineas. The pinyon pine trees are also known to influence the soil in which they grow. Sadly, these amazing trees are under attack by small, black, bean shaped invasive insects known as the Pinyon needle scales. These insects can cause the leaves of Pinyon pine trees to fall off and could also kill the tree!

These tiny, sap-sucking insects kill the needles and severely weaken Pinyon pines in forests. Reduced new growth and stunted needles are common on trees suffering repeated attacks. The needle length is reduced and needles drop prematurely. Heavy infestations frequently kill small trees and predispose weakened larger trees to attack by other insects. Feeding by adult females and nymphs causes the needles to turn yellow and prematurely fall. Most defoliation occurs on older needles, producing a tufted appearance with younger needles primarily persisting on infested trees. Small trees with scales can die in a few years when untreated. However, larger trees suffer more slowly, losing one or a couple branches at a time until they die.

This insect is most common and damaging in the United States, particularly in southern Colorado. Historic outbreaks were noted in 1957-1963 in southeast Nevada and southwest Utah, affecting several hundred thousand acres. In 2009, approximately 7% of Nevada’s pinyon forest mapped was affected by this insect. In 2010, nearly 1,161,000 acres of the approximately 9,950,000 acres of pinyon in Nevada were mapped as scale-defoliated.This represents 11.6% of Nevada’s pinyon forest!

The graveness of the issue can be better understood from the following article,

Pinyon needle scale eggs killing trees in some AZ cities

However, these warmer temperatures have already caused native insects, called pinyon needle scales to emerge.

These insects can cause leaves of Pinyon pine trees to fall off and could also kill the tree.

Because of the warm temperatures, the female scales have already laid their eggs on the trees and will hatch in May.

They can be found over thousands of acres including the Prescott area up the northwest to the Williamson Valley and are also spreading across the Payson area.

They look like noticable clusters of yellow eggs held together in loose, white, cottony webbing found in branch crotches, along the underside of branches, on the trunk, and at the base of the tree.

Bob Celaya, Forest Health Specialist says the eggs need to be spotted and treated as quickly as possible since they can kill small trees within a few years and large trees may take several years to die.

Evidently, unless proper measures are taken, the Pinyon pines may soon become extinct due to the Pinyon needle scale. Infested pine trees can be treated with chemicals and insecticides or by washing off the eggs from the surface of the trees before they get a chance to hatch. However, the efforts and costs associated with these methods, as well as the environmental safety concerns about applying toxic insecticides, make these techniques less feasible on a broad scale in natural areas.

At C Tech Corporation, we offer a safe and foolproof solution to deal with these tiny insects. Termirepel™ is a non-toxic, non-hazardous product that primarily repels insects from the application. It is a broad spectrum repellent which works against almost 500 species of pestering bugs thus efficaciously fending them away from the application. The best feature of this product is that it is environmentally safe and causes no harm to the insect as well as humans and the environment. It is available in masterbatch and lacquer form, and as a liquid solution. To keep these insects at bay, this product can be coated on the tree trunks in lacquer form. The repelling mechanism of the product would ward off the Pinyon needle scale and any other insect that could harm the pine trees. Thus, using Termirepel™ would effectively ensure that our cherished pines remain safe and protected from this destructive pest!

Termites though extremely small and tiny creatures have managed to stir us humans into noticing them and acknowledging their existence. The primary reason is the tune of damage they cause which has a direct impact on the economy of the country and thus the humans. Termites attack in groups and feed on any form of cellulose especially wood. This little bit of trivia makes us realize that almost everything around us is susceptible to a termite attack. Termites always seek for moisture filled places and therefore basements and the space under wooden boards are their favorable infestation places. Termite damage often looks similar to water damage. Outward signs of termite damage include buckling wood, swollen floor sand ceilings, areas that appear to be suffering from slight water damage and visible mazes within walls or furniture. Termite infestations also can exude a scent similar to mildew or mold. Dry wood termite infestations may only become apparent after a colony has burrowed so deeply into an infested item that the veneer cracks and the maze-like tunnels beneath become visible. Such damage is common in antique furniture pieces.

Termite infestations are rampant all over the world. February, March and April are the months when subterranean termites swarm as was experienced by the clueless homeowners of Orange County as they came home to thousands of termites as was reported by the local pest control agency in Orange county on 2nd Feb,2013. The incident left the home owners scared and shook up as some of them even mistook the termites to be flying ants. This incident was caused by a particular sect of termites which include the young king and queen termites as they set out for mating. These types of termites are distinctly different from the normal whitish “worker” termites. When the conditions are right, the young kings and queens burst out of their nest and begin their short flight. They often follow the prevailing breeze because they are poor fliers. Some break off their wings while still in flight and spiral down to the earth. Others may land and then remove their wings. These kings and queens are not attracted to one another until their wings have been clipped off. They have a very high mortality rate of 97% and only about 3% survive.

Countries like China have been at the receiving end of termite related damage for quite some time now. As the damage done by termites often goes unnoticed over long periods of time the detection of an infection is often in the later stage. Termites have damaged nearly 4,500 houses in the Guizhou province of China. The China News Service reported that since July 2012 termites have been rampant in the Xingyi city damaging thousands of homes forcing the evacuation of 1,700 people. The termites have caused an estimated direct economic loss of about 34 million Yuan ($5.45 million) at the time of going to press in Feb, 2013. The losses must have escalated now. Termites damage homes by eating away at the wood structure thus threatening the structural integrity of the whole set up. Termite infested homes are a life risk. Termite infestations are more severe than any of us give them credit for, as was experienced by a lawyer when he was asked to pay $68 K in damages to another lawyer for concealing termite infestation in his house as was reported on the official website of Campbell Law PC in April, 2013.

These measly creatures are sure causing us a lot of money!!Jamal Shahid of a newspaper in Islamabad, Pakistan reported on 28th Jan, 2013 that Gallery 3 of the National Art Gallery was closed due to termite infestation. The termite infestation was a severe one and being detected at a very later stage forced the immediate closure of the gallery. The art that the gallery houses is worth millions and therefore no risk could be taken exposing it to termite damage. The infestation came to light when the authorities found conical mounds of sawdust under wooden skirting along the walls. The main reason for the termite attack was postulated to be the use of substandard wood used for skirting the frames and gallery railings which is more susceptible to a termite attack. This unforeseen closure of the gallery would definitely amount to huge financial losses as well as the constant threat of precious art getting destroyed. Thus an effective solution needs to be formulated to keep these creatures from causing us any further grief. Avoidance is a better solution than treatment in his case, as it is very difficult to save a piece of wood once it has been attacked by termites. The right and smart thing to do would be to keep them away from our precious wood. This is effectively achieved by Termirepel™ a non-toxic, aversive termite repellant which keeps the termites away while at the same time not killing them.

Bed bugs are basically parasitic insects of the cimicid family that feed exclusively on blood. The name “bed bug” is derived from the preferred habitat of Cimex lectularius: warm houses and especially nearby or inside of beds and bedding or other sleep areas. Bed bugs are mainly active at night, but are not exclusively nocturnal. They usually feed on their hosts without being noticed. Bed bugs are attracted to their hosts primarily by carbon dioxide, secondarily by warmth, and also by certain chemicals. Bedbugs prefer exposed skin, preferably the face, neck and arms of a sleeping individual. Although under certain cool conditions adult bed bugs can live for over a year without feeding, under typically warm conditions they will try to feed at five to ten day intervals and adults can survive for about five months without food.

It takes between five and ten minutes for a bed bug to become completely engorged with blood. In all, the insect may have spent less than 20 minutes in physical contact with its host, and it will not attempt to feed again until it has either completed a molt or, if an adult has thoroughly digested the meal.

Once feeding is complete, a bed bug will relocate to a place close to a known host, commonly in or near beds or couches in clusters of adults, juveniles, and eggs which entomologists call harborage areas or simply harborages to which the insect will return after future feedings by following chemical trails. Bed bugs use pheromones and kariomones to communicate regarding nesting locations, feeding and reproduction.

Let us take a look at the below news article;

Chicago Tops Bed Bug Cities List for Third Year in a Row

Bed bug business increased 18 percent last year with nearly half of cities showing a rise in bed bug treatments

January 21, 2015: 09:37 AM ET

ATLANTA, Jan. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Chicago tops the 2014 Bed Bug Cities List for the third year in a row. The list, released by pest control leader Orkin, ranks the cities by the number of bed bug treatments Orkin performed from January to December 2014. Bed bugs were in the news throughout 2014 in the Windy City, with reports of the blood-sucking insects on public transit and inside several downtown office buildings, as well as in police headquarters, a fire station, school, library and movie theater.

“Bed bugs are a serious issue across the country, and they’re very difficult to control,” said Orkin Entomologist and Technical Services Director Ron Harrison, Ph.D. “Bed bugs are not limited to any level of cleanliness or income, which means they can be found in any home or hotel. They’re great hitchhikers, and people often bring them inside on their clothes or in their luggage.”

The best product to combat the bed bug problem is Termirepel™, a product of C Tech Corporation.

Termirepel™works by the mechanism of repellence by virtue of which it does not allow the insect/pest to come near the application and thus it negates the possibility of an infestation. Moreover it is available in the form of polymer compatible masterbatches as well as in lacquer form to be applied on wood and other furniture. Thus it is easy to apply and safe to use.

It is said that the word rice is derived from the old French word ‘ris’ which in turn has its origin Italian, Latin and Greek. Whatever be the origin of the word, it is one of the major staple for a large part of the world’s human population, especially in Asia. It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production, after surgarcane and maize, according to data of FAOSTAT 2012.

Being the major staple food of most of the people, the impact is harder on the population due to the shortage of the rice. One of the dangers that befall the rice food leading to its shortage is attack by pests. Brown planthoper is a major rice pest which causes extensive damage and losses. Being distributed across Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, North and South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam; the brown planthopper causes upto 60% yield loss. Their host plant other than rice is Leersia hexandra. They damage rice directly through feeding and also by transmitting two viruses, rice ragged stunt virus and rise grassy stunt virus.

Adults and nymph suck the phloem sap leading to hopper burn & resulting in drying of leaves. High infestation causes lodging of the crop and heavy loss in yield. Infestation is severe in high yielding varieties. Under favorable conditions they multiply very fast. Both brown planthopper(BPH) and white backed planthopper(WBPH) are known for their resistance to commonly used insecticides including the neonicotinoids. Hence crop failures due to severe pest outbreaks are very common in many rice-growing tracts of India. Temperature, relative humidity and prevailing wind direction determine the severity of incidence and spread of BPH.

In appearance the adult brown planthopper is Yellowish brown to dark brown in colour measuring 4.5 to 5.0 mm long.

High nitrogen levels and close plant spacing, continuous submerged, shady and humid conditions in the field tend to favor the BPH increase.

Outbreaks of the insect pests are closely associated with insecticide misuse, especially during the early crop stages. These insecticide sprays usually directed at leaf feeding insects disrupt the natural biological control, which favor the BPH development as secondary pest.

Let’s take a look at the following article highlighting the damage done by brown planthopper;

Pest attack on aman fields worries farmers

Our Correspondent, Lalmonirhat,Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Farmers in the district are worried as attack on paddy fields by brown plant hopper (BPH), locally known as current poka, poses threat to their hope for a good yield of aman this season.

Agriculture officials claim the situation is now under control while the farmers said the use of pesticides has failed to check the pest attack.

Farmers said BPH started attacking aman plants a week ago and many aman paddy fields in the district have already been attacked. They are trying to save their aman plants from being attacked by BPH, using natural methods and spraying pesticides in the fields.

Nurul Islam Bappi, a farmer of Durakuti village in Sadar upazila, said his aman plants on two bighas of land have been attacked by BPH (current poka) and it is also attacking the plants on another two bighas of land. “I have been spraying pesticides in the fields for the last three days, but to no effect,” he said.

Abdul Jalil of Jumma Para village in the upazila said BPH attacked aman plants on his three bighas of land five days ago and wreaked havoc on 50 percent plants. “As per advice of local agriculture officer, I sprayed pesticides that yielded no positive results,” he said.

Contacted, Deputy Director Safayet Hossain of the Department of Agriculture Extension in Lalmonirhat, said the situation is ‘not so alarming’. Agriculture officials are working at field level and giving advice to the farmers about use of pesticides and other methods to combat the PBH disease, he added.

Using conventional toxic pesticides will not be effective as the brown planthopper has become resilient to them. Pesticides are toxic, hazardous and pollute the environment. So a solution has to be adopted which have the traits exactly opposite to the deadly pesticides.

C-Tech Corporation provides a solution for the hopeful farmers to protect their crops effectively and efficiently. Termirepel™ a non-toxic, non-hazardous and environment friendly product repels all kinds of insects, termites, pests. They can be incorporated in agricultural films, mulches and irrigation pipes to protect the crops from the vicious pests. The product is available in the form masterbatch as well as liquid solution and is compatible with most the base polymers. The most important quality of the product is that it does not kill the target species but repels them. Using Termirepel™ will ensure that the crops are protected which gives a ray of hope for the problem of malnourishment.